The mission of the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership is to promote and support civic engagement through history education, economic development through heritage tourism, and the preservation of cultural landscapes in one of the nation's most important historic regions.

The Journey is a 180-mile corridor from Gettysburg, PA through Maryland and Harpers Ferry, WV to Monticello in Charlottesville, VA.

The region was placed on the National Trust for Historic Preservation's list of the 11 most endangered places in the United States in 2005, was declared by Congress as a National Heritage Area in 2008, and Route 15/20 was named a National Scenic Byway in 2009. The Journey includes:

12 presidential sites

30 Historic Main Street Communities

Dozens of Civil War battlefields, including Harpers Ferry, Gettysburg, Antietam, Manassas and the Appomattox

The mission of the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership is to promote and support civic engagement through history education, economic development through heritage tourism, and the preservation of cultural landscapes in one of the nation's most important historic regions.

The Journey is a 180-mile corridor from Gettysburg, PA through Maryland and Harpers Ferry, WV to Monticello in Charlottesville, VA.

The region was placed on the National Trust for Historic Preservation's list of the 11 most endangered places in the United States in 2005, was declared by Congress as a National Heritage Area in 2008, and Route 15/20 was named a National Scenic Byway in 2009. The Journey includes:

12 presidential sites

30 Historic Main Street Communities

Dozens of Civil War battlefields, including Harpers Ferry, Gettysburg, Antietam, Manassas and the Appomattox

Over 100 sites related to the fight for Civil Rights

Impact

In 2015, as part of a series of surveys of National Heritage Areas, national consulting firm Tripp Umbach began a study on the economic impact of tourism in The Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area and found that it generates $703.0 million in economic impact, supports 8,401 jobs, and generates $51.1 million in tax revenue.

Needs

The JTHG Partnership is committed to:

• Building a strong network of local, regional and national partners to develop a common vision for the conservation and enhancement of the scenic, historic, recreational, cultural, and natural characteristics of the region.

• Developing education outreach programs for students of every age, teachers, and visitors.

• Creating authentic heritage tourism programs that will provide economic development opportunities through regional branding and cooperative marketing in communities throughout the region.

• Working in partnership with local, state and national leaders and residents to create and support a National Scenic Byway and a National Heritage Area that will sustain and strengthen our economy, heritage and quality of life in this region.

• Promoting the creation and maintenance of transportation systems that employ context sensitive design and foster efficient safe and enjoyable travel through the corridor.

Background

The Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership (JTHG) is a nonprofit organization with a strategic plan, a dedicated professional team and a Board of Trustees representing its 350 Partnering organizations. This broad-based coalition of public and private organizations has dedicated their collective efforts to conserving and supporting the irreplaceable historic and cultural resources contained within the Piedmont, from Gettysburg to Monticello. Through these efforts, the JTHG Partnership supports our communities with sustainable economic initiatives and creates award-winning educational programs for students and visitors of every age.

Since 2005, the JTHG Partnership has achieved the following goals:

An Act of Congress, signed by the President in May 2008, designating The Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area.

Designation of the 180-mile The Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Scenic Byway by the Secretary of Transportation in 2009.

Creation and implementation of nationally award winning educational programs, which have touched thousands of students of every age. These include the creation of the publication of five scholarly books, including the National Geographic Society’s Journey Through Hallowed Ground, Birthplace of American Ideals, and Honoring Their Paths: African American Contributions Along the Journey Through Hallowed Ground.

CEO StatementIn 2015, The Journey
celebrated its tenth anniversary, and we could not have reached this milestone
without your help and support. For a
decade, The Journey has been engaging our communities by educating our young
people about the incredible history of our region, preserving that history, protecting
our beautiful landscapes, and strengthening our economy through revitalization
and heritage tourism.

Your support built the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership, and we are so grateful to you for your efforts. As we enter our second decade, your continued financial contribution will help broaden and deepen the impact of our programs.

The Journey is a partnership in every sense of the word. We partner with 13 National Parks, 30 historic downtown communities, 9 presidential sites, and numerous farm-to-fork operations, wineries and historic sites, as well as groups like the Piedmont Environmental Council, the Civil War Trust, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. 2016 will mark the 100th year of our National Park Service, and the 50th year of the National Historic Preservation Act. These important anniversaries will provide us with unique opportunities to build on some of our most significant partnerships.

But most importantly, we partner with people, beginning with our schoolchildren. Currently, Gettysburg Area Middle School students are creating mini-movies, sharing stories from the Eisenhower National Historic Site as part of our award-winning Of the Student, By the Student, For the StudentTM program. In spring 2016, we will launch a new and innovative Beacon project for tech-savvy elementary students at Harpers Ferry National Park. Our Extreme Journey summer camps are becoming more popular every year and allow kids to gain an appreciation for our history while having a lot of fun doing it.

With your support our second decade will be a great success.

Sincerely,

William W. Sellers, President and CEO

Areas of Service

Areas Served

Area

Charlottesville-Albermarle

Northern Virginia

National

The Journey Through Hallowed Ground spans from Gettysburg to Monticello, between which lies one of the most important historic regions in the United States.

The tables below contain information about other groups that advise this nonprofit on operations and projects.

Advisory Board Members

Name

Affiliation

Ms. Susan Barnes

Landmark Group of Companies

Ms. Leslie Green Bowman

President, Thomas Jefferson Foundation

Mr. David Collins

Learning Tree International

Ms. Susan Eisenhower

Eisenhower Institute

Mr. John Glynn

Founder, Glynn Capital Management and Glynn Ventures

Mr. Jim Johnson

Vice Chairman, Perseus LLC

Mr. Mark Kington

X-10 Capital

Mr. Bob Kinsley

Kinsley Construction

Mr. and Mrs. Nick and Mary Lynn Kotz

Protect Historic America

Mr. James Lighthizer

President, Civil War Trust

Ms. Jacqueline Mars

Community Volunteer

Mr. Ron Maxwell

Film Director, Producer

Mr. Ed McMahon

Urban Land Institute

Ms. Stephanie Meeks

President, National Trust for Historic Preservation

Mr. John Nau

Silver Eagle Distributors

Dr. Libby Haight O'Connell

Chief Historian, Vice President, History Chanel

Ms. Kristin Pauly

Managing Director, Prince Charitable Trusts

Mr. Frederick Prince

Mr. Gordon Rainey

Chairman Emeritus, Partner, Hunton & Williams

Executive Director

Executive DirectorMr. William W. Sellers

Experience

William W. Sellers,
a lawyer and nonprofit executive, has a proven track record in fundraising,
building partnerships, and managing resources. Recently, he spent five years as President of Wentworth Military Academy
and College in Lexington, MO, which was founded in 1880. During his tenure, he led the $11 million
nonprofit institution, which was on the verge of closure and bankruptcy, to
record enrollment. Among other
achievements, his tenure at Wentworth was marked by increases in fundraising of
more than 50%; his leadership in strategic planning; his oversight of over $1
million in facility upgrades; the expansion of the campus footprint through the
purchase of five adjacent properties; and increasing international enrollment
through the establishment of an international department with recruiting initiatives
in multiple countries.

Sellers received a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Harvard University, and his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Missouri School of Law. Prior to his presidency at Wentworth, he spent several years in private practice. Bill has served in leadership roles in a broad range of organizations. Among other positions, he has served as President of the Association of Military Colleges and Schools of the United States; on the Presidential Advisory Committee to Missouri’s Coordinating Board of Higher Education; on the Board of Trustees of the State Historical Society of Missouri; and on the Board of Directors of the Harvard Alumni Association. Sellers has also been active in managing, and fundraising for, several political campaigns.

Former CEOs

Name

Term

Mr. Stuart Haney

July 2015 - Sept

Ms. Cate Magennis Wyatt

Jan 2005 - July

Senior Staff

Name

Title

Ms. Michelle Burrelli

Director of the JTHG National Heritage Area

Staff

Full Time Staff3

Part Time Staff2

Volunteers6

Contractors0

Retention Rate0

Plans

Organization has a Fundraising Plan?Yes

Organization has a Strategic Plan?Under Development

Management Succession Plan?Yes

Organization Policy and ProceduresYes

Nondiscrimination PolicyYes

Whistleblower PolicyNo

Document Destruction PolicyNo

Directors and Officers Insurance PolicyYes

Awards

Awards

Award/Recognition

Organization

Year

FLITE Award for Economic Development

Commonwealth of Virginia

2010

Outstanding Private Sector Plan Award

American Planning Association Virginia Chapter (VAPA)

2009

Featured The Journey Through Hallowed Ground: Birthplace of the American Ideal”

Virginia Festival of the Book

2009

Special Commendation for the JTHG Corridor Management Plan

The Virginia Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (VASLA)

2009

National Model in Community Building and Heritage Tourism Development

National Historic Road Conference

2010

Excellence in Education: the Of The Student, By the Student, For the Student Service Learning Project

Virginia Department of Education

2012

Award of Merit and the WOW award for innovation for interpretation of state and local history

American Association for State and Local History

2012

Chairman's Award: We the People Grant for the "Of the Student, By the Student, For the Student" Service Learning Project

National Endowment for the Humanities

2010

Award for Federal Preserve America Accomplishment: Education Program

Advisory Council on Historic Preservation

2009

Resolution of Commendation: Of the Student, By the Student, For the Student project

Loudoun County Board of Supervisors

2011

Resolution of Commendation: Of the Student, By the Student, For the Student project

Washington County Board of Commissioners

2011

Resolution of Commendation: Of the Student, By the Student, For the Student project

Washington County Board of Commissioners

2011

Featured Honoring their Paths: African American Contributions Along the Journey Through Hallowed Ground

Open to rising sixth through eighth grade students, the Extreme Journey Middle School Summer Camp takes kids on a high-tech field trip to explore the JTHG region. Hiking, biking, paddling, role playing and movie making all are part of the two-week Extreme Journey experience.

In this program, students visit critically important historical sites from Gettysburg to Monticello, where they have an opportunity to get the “inside scoop” from the experts. Archaeologists, Park Rangers, re-enactors, even multimedia specialists, will share their passions and their expertise; take students back in time and into the mindset of men and women during crucial times in our nation’s history. Then the students create original “vodcasts” depicting their interpretation of the times.

We currently offer four camp sessions per summer, at an average cost of $40,000 per session. Our goal is to expand the program to allow students from throughout the country to share this transformational experience.

Our award-winning Of the Student, By the Student, For the Student™ community service project literally connects middle school students to the history in their own backyards as they use primary source documents and digital technology to create mini-movies, which become part of the official interpretive materials at each of the 13 National Parks within the Journey, and are available to educators, students and visitors worldwide through YouTube, Facebook, our website and the National Parks websites.

In the 2015-2016 school year, the Of the
Student, By the Student, For the Student® service-learning project was conducted at Gettysburg Area
Middle School in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania to focus on President Eisenhower
and the Eisenhower National Historic Site using funds awarded by the NPS
Technical Assistance Program. Two vodcasts were produced that highlight two important elements of President Eisenhower’s
Presidency: the national distribution of the polio vaccine, and
Khrushchev’s visit with Eisenhower in Gettysburg and its role in reducing
tensions of the Cold War.

To watch the vodcasts or to learn more, visit www.HallowedGround.org/Education. Please consider a gift to support this work as demand for our nationally award-winning educational programs far outpace our current capacity.

During the Civil War 620,000 soldiers died. Many of them fought on the battlefields within the Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area. We are commemorating the Civil War 150th by planting 620,000 trees, one for each soldier who died, as a somber yet powerful Living Legacy along the Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Scenic Byway from Gettysburg to Monticello.

These trees will create a 180-mile memorial in the region
along the JTHG National Scenic Byway, serving to remind each traveler along the
way of the enormity of the loss. Each tree is geotagged, allowing visitors to
learn the name and story of each young man for whom the tree is dedicated. In
collaboration with teachers and students around the nation, the JTHG
Partnership is providing the necessary resources for students to conduct
primary source-based research on the fallen from their community, creating a
local connection to a national memorial. Funding is provided from a number of sources, including individual donations of $100 for each tree planted.

In 2015, a study by national consulting firm Tripp Ubach determined that the economic impact of tourism in the JTHG National Heritage Area generates $703 million in economic impact, supports 8,401 jobs, and generates $51.1 million in tax revenue. As importantly, the businesses that rely on tourism also support the quality of life for every citizen, including the shop owners in our historic communities, the inn keepers, restaurateurs, the farms that supply our restaurants, and those who create equestrian and other sporting destinations.

In July 2009, we launched the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Certified Tourism Ambassador (CTA) program -- a ground-breaking, nationwide certification program that increases tourism by training professionals and volunteers with the goal of turning every visitor encounter into an exceptional one. So far, we have trained over 1,000 CTAs who, in turn, have touched the lives of thousands of visitors.

The Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership is a consortium of some 350 heritage sites, non-profits, educational institutions, governments, Main Street Communities, tourism organizations and other organizations dedicated to the preservation and enhancement of the region.

Throughout the year the JTHG Partnership sponsors dozens of summits, including the Heritage Sites Roundtable, Humanities Council, Main Street Partnership, Destination Marketing Organization Council, Council of Elected Officials and Committee of Educators. An all-constituents Annual Meeting draws hundreds of participants and pours thousands of dollars into local economies.